AL Wildcard: Boston Red Sox
ALDS: White Sox OVER Red Sox, Mariners OVER Yankees
ALCS: White Sox OVER Mariners
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
AL Cy Young: Jake Peavy
AL ROY: I would have picked Julio Borbon, but I don't think he qualifies as a rookie by like 20 or 30 at bats, but I will choose Neftali Feliz, from the same team.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
2010 MLB Predictions: AL West
Before I go on with my predictions, I want to post this, I figured it might be something Josh and Offord would enjoy since they like to put so much stock in the importance of such statistics that I find subjectively obsolete. But I think it may help my argument for who I think is going to come out on top for the division this season. Here are my predictions for the AL West:
Mariners
Rangers
Angels
Athletics
I know everyone thinks I'm crazy with my predictions half the time, and now I look ready for the straight jacket for predicting the mighty Angels to fall in the AL West, the division they have owned for the better part of a decade, but I think this is the year of the Mariner. Maybe its my personal love for the one last "natural" hall of fame slugger left in the big leagues; or the fact they have 2 center fielders covering the wides expanses of Safeco's spacious alleys and a 3rd in Griffey, if necessary, despite his age; or maybe it could be they have a former AL Cy Young award winner in addition to one of this years front runners for the same award; or it could be the solid defense they display across the diamond to go with a speedy line up. The only things I think may hinder them is their possible lack of power and how well they hold on to leads late in the game. The wild card for the Mariners is the emotion that could be on display night in and night out for this almost definitely being Griffey's last season in the Bigs and the send off they want to give him.
The reason i put the the Rangers over the Angels is because I like their offense so much more, and their bullpen, in my opinion, is more solid. Now, the Angels have a much better rotation, but I think they are relying too heavily on half of their line-up to continue their progress on what were career years for half of their line up. Yes, a couple of these players are still young at SS, 2B and 1B, but the meat of their line up is in the outfield and they are aging and breaking down. To expect a full healthy season from all of them, including Hideki Matsui is asking for too much. They brought in Fernando Rodney to sure up the back end of their bullpen, but they also brought him in case fuentes is as erratic as he was last season. Towards the end of the season you will see the Angels fall out of the race for the division and then the wild card. The Rangers are once again, going to have one of the best offenses in the league. They have decent defense especially in center and left, a gold glover at third and who I think will be a future gold glover at short. I think the offense only got better with what I would call "cheap" signing of Vladdy to hit out of the DH and flip-flop on the defensive side of the ball with Cruz. I like the Rotations 1 and 2 guys, but can Feldman continue to be a 15+ wins pitcher and can the talented Rich Harden stay healthy enough to pitch an entire season? Their bullpen is deep, atleast in potential closer depth, though the role itself is strongly in the hands of Francisco. The last thing I'm really looking forward to is where the young flame thrower Neftali Feliz ends up. He could end up being a stellar 3rd or 4th starter or end up in the bullpen for a little while to groom him into the starters role and build arm strength in the same way the Rays handled David Price.
The athletics brought in Ben Sheets and have a relatively young and speedy outfield. They brought in Kouzmanoff, who still has some power potential and is definitely a reliable back up plan to the oft-injured eric chavez. The rest of their rotation outside of Sheets is going to rely on Dallas Braden and Justin Duchscherer? I like the Pirates odds more with Hart and Lincoln. Their bullpen I don't think is very deep, though they do have a couple options at closer and people who can interchange towards the back end. In the end, I don't think they have what it takes in the division, but it's the A's and like the Marlins and the Twins before them, always seem to find a way to stay competitive at least for a little while.
CDP: The rangers will have 4 players hit 30+ home runs but still come up short in their bid for a playoff birth and Griffey will hit 25 home runs.
Mariners
Rangers
Angels
Athletics
I know everyone thinks I'm crazy with my predictions half the time, and now I look ready for the straight jacket for predicting the mighty Angels to fall in the AL West, the division they have owned for the better part of a decade, but I think this is the year of the Mariner. Maybe its my personal love for the one last "natural" hall of fame slugger left in the big leagues; or the fact they have 2 center fielders covering the wides expanses of Safeco's spacious alleys and a 3rd in Griffey, if necessary, despite his age; or maybe it could be they have a former AL Cy Young award winner in addition to one of this years front runners for the same award; or it could be the solid defense they display across the diamond to go with a speedy line up. The only things I think may hinder them is their possible lack of power and how well they hold on to leads late in the game. The wild card for the Mariners is the emotion that could be on display night in and night out for this almost definitely being Griffey's last season in the Bigs and the send off they want to give him.
The reason i put the the Rangers over the Angels is because I like their offense so much more, and their bullpen, in my opinion, is more solid. Now, the Angels have a much better rotation, but I think they are relying too heavily on half of their line-up to continue their progress on what were career years for half of their line up. Yes, a couple of these players are still young at SS, 2B and 1B, but the meat of their line up is in the outfield and they are aging and breaking down. To expect a full healthy season from all of them, including Hideki Matsui is asking for too much. They brought in Fernando Rodney to sure up the back end of their bullpen, but they also brought him in case fuentes is as erratic as he was last season. Towards the end of the season you will see the Angels fall out of the race for the division and then the wild card. The Rangers are once again, going to have one of the best offenses in the league. They have decent defense especially in center and left, a gold glover at third and who I think will be a future gold glover at short. I think the offense only got better with what I would call "cheap" signing of Vladdy to hit out of the DH and flip-flop on the defensive side of the ball with Cruz. I like the Rotations 1 and 2 guys, but can Feldman continue to be a 15+ wins pitcher and can the talented Rich Harden stay healthy enough to pitch an entire season? Their bullpen is deep, atleast in potential closer depth, though the role itself is strongly in the hands of Francisco. The last thing I'm really looking forward to is where the young flame thrower Neftali Feliz ends up. He could end up being a stellar 3rd or 4th starter or end up in the bullpen for a little while to groom him into the starters role and build arm strength in the same way the Rays handled David Price.
The athletics brought in Ben Sheets and have a relatively young and speedy outfield. They brought in Kouzmanoff, who still has some power potential and is definitely a reliable back up plan to the oft-injured eric chavez. The rest of their rotation outside of Sheets is going to rely on Dallas Braden and Justin Duchscherer? I like the Pirates odds more with Hart and Lincoln. Their bullpen I don't think is very deep, though they do have a couple options at closer and people who can interchange towards the back end. In the end, I don't think they have what it takes in the division, but it's the A's and like the Marlins and the Twins before them, always seem to find a way to stay competitive at least for a little while.
CDP: The rangers will have 4 players hit 30+ home runs but still come up short in their bid for a playoff birth and Griffey will hit 25 home runs.
Friday, February 26, 2010
2010 MLB Predictions: AL Central
I'm sorry guys, I'm kinda bored right now and I have time to continue on with my predictions. So I am going to continue with the AL Central. What can you say about the AL Central? How about White Sox! White Sox! White Sox! I think they are going to run away with this division. I really don't think this is going to be close (but of course I am going to be wrong); Heres the AL Central Predictions:
White Sox
Tigers
Indians
Twins
Royals
The White Sox look absolutely perfect on paper. They have a stellar rotation, especially with a healthy Peavy; crazy depth defensively and offensively; and players who can play above average defense at more than 2 positions. They brought in the best defensive outfielder(andruw jones) and infielder(omar vizquel) from the last 20 years, and if Andruw Jones starts to rake, sheesh! Can you imagine how much better the defense up the middle is going to be this year? With young guys at second and short in their 2nd and 3rd year respectively, just think of all the information they are going to absorb from the future hall of famer. Detroit has a chance...to really struggle this year. They definitely have the quantity at starting pitcher, but its the quality i worry about outside of Verlander. Johnny Damon I don't think made them all that better, and if this team is going to improve at all offensively, Inge can't strike out so often, Ordonez has to hit atleast like 3 years ago and Guillen has to be healthy all season. I think the team that is going to take the biggest dive is going to be the Twins. I'm not at all impressed with their rotation and their biggest acquisitions in the offseason are a flimsy wristed second basemen and a short stop who's had more mental lapses than Shutter Island. I believe the Indians are better than people believe, especially offensively with a healthy Sizemore and an improving Cabrera along with Choo and the newly added Russell Branyan to add 30 home runs. The Royals are getting there and have a great future with a very talented and young pitching staff, but they need a lot of pieces to fall into place offensively...Jason Kendall?? I mean come on!
CDP: The Cy Young and MVP will come out of this division( I will have those when i finish both leagues, they will be included with my playoff predictions.)
White Sox
Tigers
Indians
Twins
Royals
The White Sox look absolutely perfect on paper. They have a stellar rotation, especially with a healthy Peavy; crazy depth defensively and offensively; and players who can play above average defense at more than 2 positions. They brought in the best defensive outfielder(andruw jones) and infielder(omar vizquel) from the last 20 years, and if Andruw Jones starts to rake, sheesh! Can you imagine how much better the defense up the middle is going to be this year? With young guys at second and short in their 2nd and 3rd year respectively, just think of all the information they are going to absorb from the future hall of famer. Detroit has a chance...to really struggle this year. They definitely have the quantity at starting pitcher, but its the quality i worry about outside of Verlander. Johnny Damon I don't think made them all that better, and if this team is going to improve at all offensively, Inge can't strike out so often, Ordonez has to hit atleast like 3 years ago and Guillen has to be healthy all season. I think the team that is going to take the biggest dive is going to be the Twins. I'm not at all impressed with their rotation and their biggest acquisitions in the offseason are a flimsy wristed second basemen and a short stop who's had more mental lapses than Shutter Island. I believe the Indians are better than people believe, especially offensively with a healthy Sizemore and an improving Cabrera along with Choo and the newly added Russell Branyan to add 30 home runs. The Royals are getting there and have a great future with a very talented and young pitching staff, but they need a lot of pieces to fall into place offensively...Jason Kendall?? I mean come on!
CDP: The Cy Young and MVP will come out of this division( I will have those when i finish both leagues, they will be included with my playoff predictions.)
2010 MLB Predictions: AL East
When it comes to parity in the Majors, I believe every team is starting to field respectable professional ball club to remain competitive within the sport, especially in the National League. When it comes to the AL East however, as much as I would like to rain on the Yankees parade and say that Derek Jeter not being guaranteed a Yankee's contract this year would portend the downfall of the franchise and sink them to the bottom of a very competitive division (for second place); every written word would be no more than literary carrion. We all know the Yucking Fankees are the best team in baseball as much as all of us Pirates fans hate to admit. A 200 Million dollar payroll does that for you. So without further ado, here are my AL East predictions:
Yankees
Red Sox
Orioles
Rays
Blue Jays
I hate the Yankees, but despite losing Godzilla and Damon, I think they may have gotten even better. They improved on the defensive side of the ball with Granderson and he is going to bring a little more youth and sizzle to the line up. They brought back Javier Vasquez to the Rotation, AS THEIR 4TH STARTER! He is a potential number 2 starter for any team in the majors and could possibly be a number 1 for any number of NL teams(the pirates). At the same time, I think that is his greatest fault. He is definitely a better NL pitcher than AL, so i guess we'll see the turn out for the yanks with him. I came real close to swapping the positions of the Sox and the Rays, but the Red Sox have the best pitching staff in the Majors. They worry me though because I think they have too many offensive question marks outside of Pedroia and Youk and I think it will hurt them. I don't trust the Rays pitching, or the O's for that matter, but I think the Orioles have such better offensive potential despite, in my opinion, only 2 or 3 consistent commodities in the line up. The Blue Jays have an all star second basement...?(like how i did that)
Crazy Division Prediction (CDP): Either the Red Sox or Rays will lose an early season MVP candidate and it will determine who finishes second in the division. Derek Jeter finishes second in the MVP vote, Carl Crawford has 75+ steals for the season.
Yankees
Red Sox
Orioles
Rays
Blue Jays
I hate the Yankees, but despite losing Godzilla and Damon, I think they may have gotten even better. They improved on the defensive side of the ball with Granderson and he is going to bring a little more youth and sizzle to the line up. They brought back Javier Vasquez to the Rotation, AS THEIR 4TH STARTER! He is a potential number 2 starter for any team in the majors and could possibly be a number 1 for any number of NL teams(the pirates). At the same time, I think that is his greatest fault. He is definitely a better NL pitcher than AL, so i guess we'll see the turn out for the yanks with him. I came real close to swapping the positions of the Sox and the Rays, but the Red Sox have the best pitching staff in the Majors. They worry me though because I think they have too many offensive question marks outside of Pedroia and Youk and I think it will hurt them. I don't trust the Rays pitching, or the O's for that matter, but I think the Orioles have such better offensive potential despite, in my opinion, only 2 or 3 consistent commodities in the line up. The Blue Jays have an all star second basement...?(like how i did that)
Crazy Division Prediction (CDP): Either the Red Sox or Rays will lose an early season MVP candidate and it will determine who finishes second in the division. Derek Jeter finishes second in the MVP vote, Carl Crawford has 75+ steals for the season.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
2010 MLB Predictions
Nice predictions (Josh), I mostly agree. I think this is the toughest season in recent memory to predict because so many teams are looking good, in my opinion. In the NL, I would not be shocked if any of the following made the playoffs - Phillies, Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, Brewers, Dodgers, Rockies, Giants, D'Backs. In the AL, I could see the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Angels, Mariners, and Rangers. That is quite a field of teams that have a shot. Since a lot of them are crapshoots for me, I'll probably get them exactly right, because when I am "sure", they are always way off.
NL East
Phillies
Braves
Mets
Marlins
Nationals
May be the best division in the NL when all is said and done. The Nationals have done A LOT to improve, and if Strasburg is half the pitcher they expect, added to Lanaan, Marquis, Wang, and Zimmerman, these guys could seriously push the Mets and Marlins. Don't forget though, the Mets have a healthyish Beltran and Reyes, to go along with Wright, Bay, and Santana. You can't count these guys out yet...just wait until August.
NL Central
Cardinals
Cubs
Reds
Brewers
Astros
Pirates
Cardinals are the clear favorite, but the Reds are up and coming. The Cubs will be in their consistent 2/3 spot, so the only competition will be the Reds trying to move up the ladder. If not this year, then next year the Reds will be second.
NL West
Rockies
Dodgers
Giants
D'Backs
Padres
The D'Backs get Webb back and add Edwin Jackson, but still have too much youth to make it in this balanced division. Any of the top 3 could make it, but I like Ubaldo Jimenez to lead the Rocks into the playoffs. The Giants just haven't done enough on offense to move up yet.
NL Wildcard: Dodgers. I like the Braves, but they didn't do enough to improve their offense, and the Dodgers have Matt Kemp.
NLDS: Cardinals over Dodgers, Phillies over Rockies
NLCS: Cardinals over Phillies
NL MVP: If Pujols gets seriously injured, then Matt Kemp.
NL CY YOUNG: Tim Lincecum
NL ROY: Pedro Alvarez ... j/k. Heyward if he gets a shot, Escobar if not. Travis Wood - SP Reds - is a sleeper.
AL East
Yankees
Red Sox
Rays
Orioles
Blue Jays
I really like the Orioles. If they were in the Central I might take them to win the division. Alas, they are not. Next year could be their year, but for now, the big 3 will be at the top again. Close between the Rays and Sox, but Lackey and Dice-K will push them over the top.
AL Central
Tigers
White Sox
Twins
Royals
Indians
This is a boring division, but the top 3 teams all have a decent shot. The White Sox have arguably the best rotation in the AL, but I think top to bottom Detroit's is better. Detroit will need its youngsters Jackson, Sizemore, and Raburn to really step up, and Miguel Cabrera to avoid bars.
AL West
Angels
Rangers
Mariners
A's
I think this will be the most exciting division in baseball and probably the closest. The Angels are steady as usual, but, if a lot of things go right, the Rangers have potentially the second best team in the AL to the Yanks. However, I think experience and consistency will win out down the stretch.
For the wildcard, like I said before, there are a lot of teams that have a shot. Because of experience, I will take the Red Sox, but I would not be shocked if the Rangers overcame them. If not this year, then next year we'll see Texas in the playoffs, especially if Harden turns things around and Netfali Feliz is as good as expected.
AL Wildcard: Red Sox
ALDS: Tigers over Red Sox, Yankees over Angels
ALCS: Yankees over Tigers. Surprisingly, the Tigers were potentially the best offense last year, now their offense is a weakness. Yanks are too much to overcome.
World Series: Cardinals over Yankees in an exciting 7 game series.
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez (Adrian Beltre CLOSE second)
AL CY YOUNG: Felix Hernandez
AL ROY: Michael Brantley, OF, Indians. Only because I think Feliz starts the year in the bullpen. The Rangers have a lot of quality starters and I think Colby Lewis gets a shot at the 5th spot.
NL East
Phillies
Braves
Mets
Marlins
Nationals
May be the best division in the NL when all is said and done. The Nationals have done A LOT to improve, and if Strasburg is half the pitcher they expect, added to Lanaan, Marquis, Wang, and Zimmerman, these guys could seriously push the Mets and Marlins. Don't forget though, the Mets have a healthyish Beltran and Reyes, to go along with Wright, Bay, and Santana. You can't count these guys out yet...just wait until August.
NL Central
Cardinals
Cubs
Reds
Brewers
Astros
Pirates
Cardinals are the clear favorite, but the Reds are up and coming. The Cubs will be in their consistent 2/3 spot, so the only competition will be the Reds trying to move up the ladder. If not this year, then next year the Reds will be second.
NL West
Rockies
Dodgers
Giants
D'Backs
Padres
The D'Backs get Webb back and add Edwin Jackson, but still have too much youth to make it in this balanced division. Any of the top 3 could make it, but I like Ubaldo Jimenez to lead the Rocks into the playoffs. The Giants just haven't done enough on offense to move up yet.
NL Wildcard: Dodgers. I like the Braves, but they didn't do enough to improve their offense, and the Dodgers have Matt Kemp.
NLDS: Cardinals over Dodgers, Phillies over Rockies
NLCS: Cardinals over Phillies
NL MVP: If Pujols gets seriously injured, then Matt Kemp.
NL CY YOUNG: Tim Lincecum
NL ROY: Pedro Alvarez ... j/k. Heyward if he gets a shot, Escobar if not. Travis Wood - SP Reds - is a sleeper.
AL East
Yankees
Red Sox
Rays
Orioles
Blue Jays
I really like the Orioles. If they were in the Central I might take them to win the division. Alas, they are not. Next year could be their year, but for now, the big 3 will be at the top again. Close between the Rays and Sox, but Lackey and Dice-K will push them over the top.
AL Central
Tigers
White Sox
Twins
Royals
Indians
This is a boring division, but the top 3 teams all have a decent shot. The White Sox have arguably the best rotation in the AL, but I think top to bottom Detroit's is better. Detroit will need its youngsters Jackson, Sizemore, and Raburn to really step up, and Miguel Cabrera to avoid bars.
AL West
Angels
Rangers
Mariners
A's
I think this will be the most exciting division in baseball and probably the closest. The Angels are steady as usual, but, if a lot of things go right, the Rangers have potentially the second best team in the AL to the Yanks. However, I think experience and consistency will win out down the stretch.
For the wildcard, like I said before, there are a lot of teams that have a shot. Because of experience, I will take the Red Sox, but I would not be shocked if the Rangers overcame them. If not this year, then next year we'll see Texas in the playoffs, especially if Harden turns things around and Netfali Feliz is as good as expected.
AL Wildcard: Red Sox
ALDS: Tigers over Red Sox, Yankees over Angels
ALCS: Yankees over Tigers. Surprisingly, the Tigers were potentially the best offense last year, now their offense is a weakness. Yanks are too much to overcome.
World Series: Cardinals over Yankees in an exciting 7 game series.
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez (Adrian Beltre CLOSE second)
AL CY YOUNG: Felix Hernandez
AL ROY: Michael Brantley, OF, Indians. Only because I think Feliz starts the year in the bullpen. The Rangers have a lot of quality starters and I think Colby Lewis gets a shot at the 5th spot.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Fantasy Baseball 2010
Hey guys, guess what time of year it is? That's right, it's fantasy baseball time. I will be starting a league soon on yahoo and you all are invited to join.
I want to start a discussion about it right now. I am saying only one league this year, lets discuss what stats to use. And we need everyone involved to be die hard.
Obviously these are the people I know will join: myself, Offord, Imler, Ryan, Gideon. I am hoping Ryan can get Singer, Dave, and Ruskin. Hopefully James will participate.
We would just need four more folks to have a successful and highly competitive league. Let me know.
I want to start a discussion about it right now. I am saying only one league this year, lets discuss what stats to use. And we need everyone involved to be die hard.
Obviously these are the people I know will join: myself, Offord, Imler, Ryan, Gideon. I am hoping Ryan can get Singer, Dave, and Ruskin. Hopefully James will participate.
We would just need four more folks to have a successful and highly competitive league. Let me know.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
the tebow family tree
anyone hear about the tim tebow "choose life" commercial yet?
if anything could make me root more for this guy's failure, i don't think i can come up with it at the moment. CBS should not air this commercial, since they won't air other political commercials during the super bowl.
i'm strongly considering not watching the super bowl now just because of this retarded commercial.
and tebow is an anti-evolutionist. if you are a creationist, you should not be able to earn a college degree. that should be a rule. like "don't ask, don't tell." except for rational.
if anything could make me root more for this guy's failure, i don't think i can come up with it at the moment. CBS should not air this commercial, since they won't air other political commercials during the super bowl.
i'm strongly considering not watching the super bowl now just because of this retarded commercial.
and tebow is an anti-evolutionist. if you are a creationist, you should not be able to earn a college degree. that should be a rule. like "don't ask, don't tell." except for rational.
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